Don’t Miss Out

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Connect with us

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Sign up now for the latest news, top picks for your kids, and helpful tips.

What parents need to know

Positive messages

The message here is you have to fight for your right to party, by any means necessary. The Deltas lie, cheat on tests, steal cars, and steal food from grocery stores.

Violence

A lot of hazing-style violence, including paddling. Doug gets dragged behind his horse and is later trampled. Another boy is also trampled. Otter gets beaten up by the Omega boys. Flounder kills a horse.

Sex

Lots of sexual situations, including girls giving a guy a handjob (barely off-screen), reading pornography, Bluto looking up the skirts of some cheerleaders and watching shirtless girls have a pillow fight. Some naked breasts. Pinto considers having sex with a girl who's passed out and later sleeps with a 13-year-old girl. Mrs. Wormer cheats on her husband with Otter. Katy cheats on her boyfriend with her professor.

Language

A considerable amount of salty language, including "s--t," "goddamn," "son of a b---h," "assholes," and "f--k." One character also uses the term "retard" as an insult.

Consumerism

Not applicable

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Binge drinking, including among minors as young as 13, is the primary hobby of the characters. Characters get stoned with a professor.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the only moral here is hatred for authority and partying. That means a lot of drunken revelry, pranks, and violence to make their point. It also means characters cheat on each other, binge drink, steal cars, and sleep with underage girls. Some female nudity.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

Fight for your right to party! In NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, that's what the boys of the Delta House fraternity plan to do, despite the nefarious plans of the dean (John Vernon) and the guys of Omega house (notably, the chief meanie played by Mark Metcalf). Bluto (John Belushi), Otter (Tim Matheson), and the other guys of Delta house are seven-year seniors who use their time at school to score with girls, have toga parties, and generally enjoy themselves. But Dean Wormer and the bullies of Omega house are out to harsh their mellow. The dean puts the fraternity on "double secret probation," and plans to throw them out at their next infraction. So when the guys steal Doug Neidermeyer's horse and put it in the dean's office for fun, and their grades come out far below the required level to stay at the school, the dean pulls their charter and expels the guys. But will they go out without a fight? Not a chance.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

For any guy who's ever had the figurative sand kicked in his face by a jock or been placed in the "dweeb corner" at the cool-guy party, John Landis' film is wish fulfillment.

Don't bother trying to find the plot here. It's more fun to go along for the prank-playing, wiseass ride while singing along with the amazingly energetic soundtrack. If you think too hard about it, Animal House isn't a whole lot better than today's teen sexploitation films like American Pie.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about how they deal with bullies. When someone is mean to you, do you imagine pulling off a prank like the ones the Deltas pull on Dean Wormer and the Omegas? What's a healthier way to deal with your anger? The film is also a good opportunity for parents to talk about appropriate behavior with sexual partners. Also, why do you think this film has a cult following? Does it epitomize what made John Belushi so funny on Saturday Night Live? Adult comedy buffs may want to look up Belushi's funniest moments from SNL and share them with kids. Many -- like the Samurai Deli sketch -- showcase his astounding comedic talents in a much more kid-appropriate fashion.

About our buy links

When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

Will turn into the best four years ever!!

Animal House is hands down the best comedy ever. Between drinking with friends, pulling pranks, and joining in food fights, college has never been better. And what about the ladies? Well, rest assured you will not be disappointed. Just remember, "Over, did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell NO!!"

How old is your reviewer?

I couldn't find the bio on your reviewer for this piece, Heather Boerner. Maybe she's too young to understand that Animal House is now, and probably was when made, a period piece about the early sixties, a time when 18 year olds couldn't vote but could drink and be drafted, college was often very cheap, drugs and open sex in the popular culture were new and exciting, and integration was an ideal that hadn't really begun to be accomplished yet. Undoubtedly you should discuss it with your teens, or maybe encourage them to discuss it with their grandparents, but to whine about its lack of morals? Give me a break! It's an extremely entertaining social history lesson!

Movie recommendations for your kids right to your inbox

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Our Policies

Download our free app

Common Sense is the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to empowering kids to thrive in a world of media and technology. Families, educators, and policymakers turn to
Common Sense for unbiased information and trusted advice to help them learn how to harness the positive power of media and technology for all kids.

The Common Sense and Common Sense Media names, associated trademarks, and logos, including the Decider Slider and Age Ratings Bugs,
are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).